Tag: Inspiration

Well, I was out of town this weekend for a wedding in Forks, WA. This wasn’t a vampire-themed affair; the groom (Brian’s cousin) was born and raised there. What a beautiful, home-made wedding it was! The parents of the groom hosted a few dozen campers in their backyard for the days leading up to the wedding. The ceremony itself took place across the street in a neighbor’s front yard. There was a real feeling of community- family and friends put together the flowers and table settings, as well as the food. I think my favorite part was the beautiful patchwork of linens and dishware that the bride and groom had been gathering from Goodwill for months.

I think you all will be just as inspired as I am by the beautiful simplicity of this affair:

Don’t you just love the kids’ table? And what about the stump seats? They were just as comfortable as any chair. Anyone else feel the urge to start collecting vintage table linens?

I watched a great documentary this weekend: Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton by Loic Prigent. I stumbled upon this DVD while searching through my local library’s online catalog, and decided to check it out. The film was produced for French television in 2007, and the DVD has the option for English or German narration and subtitles. The film follows designer Marc Jacobs while he designs two separated collections: one for his own label, and one for Louis Vuitton. The film crew was given unprecedented access to the design tables and work rooms of both fashion houses. You’re able to see how the creative process begins (pitch meetings, inspiration boards) and how it ends (the last minute stitching on garments less than an hour before a runway show).

You don’t need to have an interest in high end fashion to enjoy this documentary. I think anyone with a creative mind will enjoy seeing Marc Jacobs go through the creative process; I know I found inspiration from watching him and his teams work. Anyone who’s pulled an all nighter finishing up a project will sympathize with the crews pulling 24 hour plus shifts to get the garments ready for a runway show. I also found this film to have an overall fun spirit to it, which made it that much more exciting to watch. The narration is quick and witty, the editing is clever and entertaining, there is some great music in the background, and of course, Marc Jacobs himself is fun to watch.

This clip from the film demonstrates perfectly what this movie is all about: the fun music, the creative process, the team’s attitude and spirit under Jacobs’ direction.

I was at The Container Store the other day, and while browsing the sale section, came across this, by Umbra. I wanted it just for the fabric alone, but I’m trying to be responsible with my purchases (and I already have too many “bargains” that just sat around until I gave them to Goodwill). Lucky for me, I actually did need it!

Someone in this household isn’t too speedy with the putting away of the clean clothes. And our current clean clothes receptacle is this old plastic laundry basket my boyfriend inherited from his family. I get really tired of looking at it; then I give up and put all of his clothes away. Luckily, this “crunch can” is bigger than the other hamper, as well as much nicer to look at. Oh, and it can scrunch down flat, for those times when the magical clean clothes elf appears.

Umbra makes many other sizes and shapes as well, available online at containerstore.com. Oh, and many are still on sale!

I just came across this totally cute fabric and notions website, superbuzzy.com. The products are all from Japan, and are much more exciting than what you’d see at the local fabric store. I’m really digging Retro & Nostalgic and House & Home fabric categories, especially this and this. Perhaps some throw pillows, or a cozy for the flat panel tv?

One of the signs that you’re getting older is when you end up going to bed at eleven on a Saturday night. You can combat this sign of aging by deciding to take a spontaneous road trip after you find yourself wide awake at seven on Sunday morning. My boyfriend and I hopped in the car and headed south to Portland.

My sister happens to live in Portland, and she suggested we all take a trip up to the Portland Japanese Garden. I wasn’t the only one snapping photos- but I hope I was able to capture some unique angle on the gardens!

I recently got to spend the weekend at Seabrook, this amazingly adorable/perfect neighborhood on the Washington coast. My friend and I stayed in this lovely little cottage; I felt as if I were in the pages of a Pottery Barn catalogue. The whole development is only a few years old, so there was this fresh, clean feeling everywhere. Add a little ocean air, and I was soon making statements like, “When I get home I’m getting rid of everything and starting over!” (which was an improvement on my previous “Honey, I won’t be coming home” phone call.)

The whole visit had me thinking about how important a clean, organized space is to the creative process. I’ve been taking car loads of stuff to Goodwill over the past few months, and the whole routine of picking over my things to choose what stays and goes has really made me think about what objects I want in my life. I’m currently on the path of choosing beautiful and meaningful things to look at and use, rather than holding on to things “just because”.

My space is not ready to be photographed quite yet, but I will keep looking at my beach cottage photos to keep myself inspired and motivated!